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Tube Amps


Bigal63

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I have not stepped up to a tube amp yet but i want to, but there are so many to chose from, old ones , new ones, expensive ones cheep ones.....the list go on and on. I will be driving my LaScals( if I ever finish restoring them).

So I found these on a local CL....would this be a good place to start??????

H H Scott Gold Stereo Master CR-180 Amplifier w/Tnew ubes



H H Scott Wideband Tuner LT-11C w/new tubes



H H Scott LC-21 Amplifier w/new tubes





Vintage JRIO HiFi Amplifier



Vintage and rare WHRFEDALES HALF SECTION SEPERATOR UNIT ( wood case , made in englund ) New never used in original package



And finall one beast of an amplifier



Archer W4-AM Tube Amplifier...this must drop in at about 50+ pounds.

Less then $400 for the lot!!!

What do you think

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if you are headed in the direction of old gear...best to buy from someone who had their gear restored by someone reputable. paperwork with proof of restoration work done is a plus. BUT, if you want to learn tube restoration DIY stuff and won't electrocute yourself...then buy old gear could be a lot of fun.

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For vintage gear in original condition the cost of rebuilding must be considered in the price. NOSValves on this forum does an excellent job in rebuilding gear. He is definitely worth checking out. He is also helpful to consult as to what level of rebuild is desired.

As speakerfritz mentions, if you can locate gear that someone else has already paid of have gear professionally rebuilt or is a competent diy rebuilder, this can be helpful with regard to price.

Good used current manufacture gear can also be a source of decent prices.

The garage sale of this forum would be a place to check out, too.

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I would suggest auditioning tube amps before getting one. There is no hurry. Otherwise, you will be upgrading again (Ask me how I know this). Your La Scalas will handle a wide variety of topologoies of tube amps. Push Pull, OTL and SET amp. There are proably some forum members in your area and most of them will give you an audition.If you're lucky, a forum member or someone else you know, will bring their tube amps over to your system in your home for you to try.

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The guy clames they are all brand new in factory boxes.....asken $375 for all of it.

I dont mind worken on tubes, use to work on alot of tube equipment in the 80s in the Air Force, but I forgot 99% of that stuff :(

Issues is shelf life of capacitors.....so new in a box vs used everyday for 50 years.....same decay and drying of older technology capacitor componets. .Things in general do not last very long on CL. Odds are someone offered him more than the indicated asking price.......

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I have to say, If I was in your shoes - and I was a while ago, the route I took was, since I heard so much about the H H Scott amps I got one on ebay for about $280 and had Craig at NOS Valves redo it. Probably the most satisfying thing I ever did! In fact it was so satisfying I got another Scott 299C amp and had Craig go over that one too. This happened in March of this year and when my son came home in June after graduating college (he is now a music and choral teacher) he heard the magic of the Scott amp with my Cornscala speakers and he was visibly moved to tears. (I played him Mozart's Requiem). Since then I found a Scott 299D (for $360 - prices seem to be inching up) on ebay which I promptly sent off to Craig to do his magic. This is the start of my gift of music to him. Now I'm thinking of buying a set of Cornscala's {probably the kits} in the near future for him and an old Thorens to oil up and adjust. I know I ramble on but what I'm trying to say is you can go the route of getting a Scott amp and getting it redone by Craig and I suppose it will run $500 to $600 all told but you'll have an amp that will go the distance with new amps costing 3 to 4 times as much. If you were closer I'd let you listen to my setup. You'd see I'm right!

Steve

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If you are close enough to my location, I would let you compare Fisher 400 to Mcintosh mc30 with KHorns. Might be willing to part with the 400. Had it gone through. Should have paperwork somewhere. I don't know about parting with it though. But I do have a lot of equip I'm not using. Shoot me an email with your approx location, we can talk. I live in Oregon..................Taz

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Thanks to John, he let me come into his home and listen to his Fisher 400 and the Mcintosh mc30's on his KHorns.....they were amazing, but I must say the Fisher was a good as the Mac's[:S] but we really couldn't put any power to the horns or his wife would have had us both kicked out[:D].

The guy I bought my LS from has a Fisher X101-C, will need to be gone through but its in good looken shape and all the parts are there....whats a far price ???? I was thinken $150 or so???. not a lot of info online but what I have found I think it is one of there better amps.

I also found a Kenwood KW-55A at a local shop that is going for $125, its not in the same class but its cheap. might go have a listen to it tomorrow.

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Thought she was going to kick me out. Only turned them up twice, and then for a moment only. She stated I had hurt her ears. [:@] . Oh well she'll get over it. I was suprised at how well the Fisher 400 compared to the mc30's. They are both keepers.

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  • 2 weeks later...

American made tube amps are amazing when updating old vintage or newer built.

Since 2002 I have owned and currently own...NOS Valves, Conrad Johnson, Audio Research, HH Scott, Ampex, Eico and Dynaco.

For preamp phono sections I like the CJ and HH Scott (130 or LC21) the best.

For power amps I like KT88, 7591 and 6L6 tubes. I have large rooms.

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